Episcopal Church same-sex blessing resource excerpts available online

By:

The Episcopal Church Office of Public Affairs

NEW YORK - November 27, 2012 - The Episcopal Church’s liturgical rite for blessing same-sex relationships, authorized by General Convention for use in the Episcopal Church beginning the first Sunday in Advent, December 2, is now available online free of charge

'The Episcopal Diocese of Rochester celebrates the official release of this liturgy. We have discerned in this diocese a yearning for radical hospitality - a call to reach out to everyone in a mirror of Christ\'s ministry to all people. This rite shows that kind of love and hospitality, and I encourage our clergy and parishioners to see it for themselves,' said the Rt. Rev. Prince Singh, Bishop of Rochester.

'I have authorized the use of this provisional liturgy and ask clergy who use it to follow the marriage preparation process,' Bishop Singh added. 'I invite you to read, digest and follow the directions of General Convention on this subject. I invite your continued prayers for Christ\'s bride, the Church.'

The rite, which must be approved by each diocesan bishop before it is used in individual dioceses, is authorized by General Convention for provisional use until 2015.

“We learn as we pray,” explained the Rev. Ruth Meyers, Ph.D, Dean of Academic Affairs and Hodges-Haynes Professor of Liturgics at Church Divinity School of the Pacific and SCLM Chair. “During the next three years, the rite will be reviewed by clergy who use it and the couples whose unions it blesses. The Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music will compile those reviews and make a report to General Convention 2015.”

Resource

The online excerpt includes the liturgy and a summary that includes themes for theological reflection and spiritual practice. “Our covenantal life with God is expressed in relationships of commitment and faithfulness, including those of same-sex couples,” the report reads. “It is the Church’s joy to celebrate these relationships as signs of God’s love, to pray for God’s grace to support couples in their life together, and to join with these couples in our shared witness to the gospel in the world.”

The full text of “I Will Bless You and You Will Be a Blessing,” available for purchase from Church Publishing, Inc., includes: